The Worldwide Wizarding War: A History
by MuggleBeene
Summary: Having served in the army during the Worldwide Wizarding War, Scorpius Malfoy decides to write a book detailing all aspects of the conflict. His father-in-law, Professor Muggle, will lend a hand, but there's more to writing a book than just writing.
1. Project Beginnings

**Chapter 1: Project Beginnings**

_2033_

Scorpius Malfoy looked at the piles of parchment on his desk for the third time, trying to decide which pile to start with first. Instead of making a decision on the piles, though, he picked up the picture frame on his desk and brought it closer to his face. Inside the boundaries of the frame he watched Mione, his wife, smile at the camera and then move the blankets from the small bundle in her arms. The small, chubby face of his daughter Karen appeared, angry and crying. Hurriedly his mother-in-law Melody sat down next to Mione, and the picture started all over again.

After looking at his appointment calendar and realizing that he was not scheduled for anything else the rest of the day Scorpius had finally reached his decision. Once his briefcase was packed he closed the door to his office, locked it, and walked down the rows of desks until he found the department assistant. "Mabel, I've decided to work from home this afternoon. Have to catch up on some things. Tell Norld I'll be in a bit late tomorrow.

Before she could answer Scorpius exited the office, sure that the Department of International Magical Cooperation could survive without his services for a few hours. Luckily for Scorpius his in-laws didn't mind unexpected guests, and if the conversation with his wife last night before bed was any indication, his mother-in-law would probably welcome his arrival. For the first time since he began teaching at Hogwarts Professor Muggle was taking a sabbatical, ostensibly to work on another book, but if he knew his father-in-law he was probably puttering around the house, listening to music and driving his Melody crazy. Once he'd made it down to the Floo he took a pinch of powder, threw it down and said "Colony House."

A few seconds after arriving he realized that it was true; Professor Muggle was already annoying Melody Boyd.

"Hank, do you have to leave…oh! Scorpius! This is a surprise." Melody levitated five empty teacups with saucers in front of her. "Let me just put these away."

Professor Muggle made his way into the living room. "Hello Scorpius. What brings you by at this time of the day? Problems at the Ministry?"

Scorpius brushed the Floo powder off of his robes and siphoned the excess away with his wand. "No, Hank, I came over because I need some advice."

"Don't listen to anything he says about making Mione happy, because after more than twenty-five years someone still doesn't know how to pick up after himself. Empty teacups everywhere, clothes on the floor, and our loo…" Melody sat down in one of the chairs in the living room. "Never mind, sit down, Scorpius. Are Mione and Karen joining you?"

"No, Mum, they're not. Well, maybe later, she doesn't know I'm here. I've decided to finally start the book." He shifted his weight and took a deep breath. "I want to begin, but I just don't know where to start."

"Ah, the book about the war. That's going to be a big one. You'll need a big outline…" Hank rubbed his goatee. "…and a lot of research. Not counting your experiences, obviously."

"I'll bring you two some tea." Melody got up and put her hand on Scorpius' shoulder, and in a quiet voice leaned in so only he could hear. "You do know what you're getting yourself into, don't you?"

Hank motioned towards his office. "Come on, no time to get started like the present."

After entering Professor Muggle's office Scorpius was surprised when his father-in-law didn't sit at his desk; instead he sat in one of the big, old comfortable leather chairs.

"You're going to be doing the work, you take the desk. I'm just a consultant, after all."

Scorpius didn't want to argue with his father-in-law so he sat down in the chair and pulled himself closer to the desk. Instead of parchment and quills, though, a laptop computer sat on the top of the desk. "Um, Hank, I don't know how to use this thing."

"Oh sorry, I'll get that out of your way." Hank leaned over, unplugged the laptop and closed the lid. "It's ancient anyway, should probably get a new one." After setting the laptop on a pile of books next to the chair Hank settled down into the deep, worn leather chair and crossed his legs. "So, any initial ideas on where to start?"

"I don't want it to be like _The History of Magic_. I know it's a good textbook but it's so dry and hard to read. Hard to stay awake while reading it, actually." Scorpius leaned back in the desk chair. "I was thinking I'd like to try something like you did in your first book."

"Really? You actually read it? You're not just saying that to win brownie points with your father-in-law, are you?" Hank exhaled. "Might be kind of risky. Straight history is easier because you can be detached and objective. Anytime you start mixing personal things into it, well…"

Scorpius nodded. "I know, but a lot of people don't know what the average soldier went through. All they know are the reports that were in the paper and on WeasleyVision. There's the official Ministry version, they put out that overview book, but it doesn't tell people what it was like."

"So a personal history of the war, by those who where there. I like the sounds of that. Matter of fact that's something I would buy at Flourish & Blotts. With the author discount I get, of course, but since it's your book I might actually pay full price."

"Um, thanks." Scorpius laughed, as he knew his father-in-law loved nothing more than getting a discount on things. "As I said earlier, I'm not sure where to start."

"Here you are, tea for the authors." Melody sat a teacup on the desk in front of Scorpius and handed the other to Hank. "Should I expect Mione and Karen for supper?"

Before Scorpius could respond Hank answered affirmatively, so Melody left to go send an owl off to her daughter. After taking a sip of tea Hank looked over towards Scorpius.

"Well, there's the phases of the war, how things started, the first few years, how the tide turned and then how things were finished up. I think I have some books you might be interested in; don't be scared of their size, I think you'll find it fascinating." Hank got out of the chair and went over to the bookcases that covered an entire wall of his office. After scanning through the books he found what he was looking for, and brought over three large hardcover books and put them on the desk.

"Merlin's pants, Hank! When will I find time to read those and work on my book?"

"Oh, you don't have to read it all at once, take a look and see what you think about the structure. Shelby Foote's _The Civil War: A Narrative _was highly influential. Damn good read, too. Its American history, so most of the stuff you won't know about, but don't worry about that." Hank sat back down in the chair and took up his tea. "That's for later; let's get back to your question, where to start? Who are the people that you would like to interview, to get their views?"

Scorpius pushed his blonde bangs away from his face. "I'm not sure they'd want to talk to me. I was just a regular soldier, and…"

"Shit, Scorpius, did you forget what family you married into? I don't think anyone will dismiss you out of hand. You might have some trouble scheduling things, but I am more than willing to send a few owls or call in a few favors."

"What about your book, Hank? Won't this keep you from your work? I know your sabbatical is supposed to be for your new book."

"Yeah, well…" Hank leaned forward in his chair. "Don't tell Melody but I already scrapped the idea I had. No clue where to go next, so this is better than trying to pretend to be busy for a year. No, not that, I'm not going to write it, that's your deal, but I'll help with editing and stuff like that. So, who's the person who you'd like to interview the most? Why not get the big fish out of the way first?"

After a deep breath Scorpius looked over hesitantly at Hank. "Ron Weasley."

Hank snapped his fingers. "No problem. I'll send Edith an owl and she'll get us on his schedule."

"Um, Hank, I'm supposed to be working from home right now. You know, my real job?"

"Oh, well, yes. Five points from Slytherin and all that. Ok, how about I invite Ron and Hermione over for dinner tonight? Give Mione a chance to see her godparents, and after eating we can talk to Ron. Hermione won't miss a chance to see Karen." Hank looked over towards the doorway. "MEL! MEL, CAN YOU COME HERE FOR A MINUTE?"

Melody walked into the office, her glasses perched on the top of her head and several pieces of parchment in her hands. "Yes, Hank, you hallared?"

Hank laughed. "Mom would be proud of you, but it's hollered. I'm inviting Hermione and Ron over for supper tonight, so you know what that means."

Melody nodded. "That's fine; I'll just have to go to the shops to stock up on some more food, especially dessert."

* * *

><p>Ron Weasley was finishing his third piece of pie when Hank suggested they come see something in his shed. Scorpius laughed inwardly as he knew what that usually meant, that his father-in-law wanted to sneak away and have a cigar or light his pipe. They left the women in the living room, Karen on Hermione's lap, and walked out towards the garden.<p>

As soon as they entered the shed both Ron and Scorpius took out their wands and produced small flames at the end, causing Hank to laugh.

"Obvious, am I?"

"How long have I known you, Hank? Thirty odd years?" Ron shook his head. "Completely obvious, mate."

"Well if that's the case, then fuck it." Hank reached into his pocket and pulled out a small pouch, reached inside and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. "In for a Gnut, in for a Galleon."

"So…" Ron put his wand away. "Why the shed meeting, besides your smoking habit?"

Hank pointed his hand holding the cigarette towards Scorpius, who was leaning on the fender of his Morris Minor. "We, I mean, Scorpius, has a request for you."

Ron raised an eyebrow and looked over to Scorpius. At that moment Scorpius was keenly aware that not only was Ron Weasley the Assistant Minister of Magic, an Order of Merlin First class recipient, one of the people that his father was incredibly cruel and evil towards at Hogwarts as well as his wife's godfather, but he was intimately aware that Ron was a lot taller than him.

"Um, yes, well…I'm writing a book on the war. Not the dull history stuff, but accounts from people who were there at important times as well as the regular moments. The history will be in there as well, but…I'd like to interview you about the war. If you don't want to I understand. I mean, I know you and Dad…"

"Got nothing to do with your dad, Scorpius." Ron leaned against the shed wall. "I'm not sure what I can and can't say, on the record. War secrets act, you know. What did the others say, the ones you want to interview?"

"You're the first person I've asked." Scorpius felt his stomach drop. This was the end of his dream, the end of being able to write what he wanted. It was just going to turn out to be his war memoirs, and his name might sell some books, but it wouldn't be like he'd planned.

Hank looked over at Ron and held his gaze until Ron gave him a reluctant nod. "Hmm…first person, huh? Who else do you want to talk to?"

Scorpius' head popped up suddenly. "Um, Major General Berninger, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Cassandra Palliurum, Harry Potter, Albus and James as well, spouses and significant others of the soldiers, shop owners, Headmaster Longbottom…I want to have a rounded view of the war, not just the military aspect. Karen and kids like her will need to know what everyone went through during the war. It affected everyone, not just those on the front lines."

Ron rocked back and forth from his heels to the balls of his feet for several moments. "Suppose that does need to be documented. Tell you what, I'll talk to Kingsley tomorrow, see what he has to say. You'll have to go through the review process at the Ministry. Can't have war secrets leaked, of course. As for Cassandra Palliurum, that may be a big harder. She's still at Azkaban; have to find out the process for that one."

"Thank you." Scorpius felt a giant weight ease off of his shoulders. If Ron agreed, then the others would be easier to convince. "I promise I won't take up too much time, I…"

The shed door opened and all three men looked over. "Dad! Mum will kill you." Mione walked in, took the almost finished cigarette out of her father's hand and threw it on the floor, putting it out with her foot. "You've already got her in a right state because you never clean up, and now this?"

Scorpius and Ron laughed, but Hank gave his daughter a stern look. "Mione, after this long, do you think your mom doesn't know what happens out here?"

Mione rolled her eyes. "I guess I should expect you later tonight. At least the big guest bedroom is clean. Scorpius, we need to be going, it's Karen's bedtime."

Scorpius nodded and then turned to Hank and Ron. "Thank you both for your help. I'll speak to you soon."

* * *

><p>Three weeks later Scorpius sat in his study at Forthingsgate, his home with Mione. He'd converted her grandfather Hieronymus' study into a working library of sorts, and had moved the large desk in front of the window, as he preferred natural light. Unfortunately the seasonably warm and clear weather had ended, and candles were needed to illuminate the room. With his notes by his side he took up the parchment again, even though he'd read it through twice, but as Hank said 'a writer is never done writing; he just gets tired of editing.' After a sip of tea he figured another read through wouldn't hurt.<p>

_In the wizarding world Ron Weasley hardly needs an introduction. The youngest son of Molly and Arthur Weasley, he attended Hogwarts under the great Headmaster Albus Dumbledore as a member of Gryffindor House. During the years when Tom Riddle, known to his followers and enemies as Lord Voldemort, attempted to take over the wizarding world, he played an integral part in defeating the evil wizard. Alongside his best friend Harry Potter, and his future wife Hermione Granger, they set in motion the events that would lead to the ultimate destruction of the leader of the Death Eaters. After Lord Voldemort was dispatched he received the Order of Merlin First Class. Subsequent to his departure from Hogwarts Mr. Weasley assisted his brother George in the reinvigoration of Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes, helping to set in motion events that would ultimately lead to that business becoming one of the largest wizarding enterprises worldwide. Once the business was on track, Mr. Weasley followed his natural inclinations and became an Auror, specializing in strategies that are standard practice for Aurors to this day. Following the cessation of hostilities Mr. Weasley returned to the Aurors for a brief time before joining Minister of Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt's staff, rising through the ranks until reaching his current position as Assistant Minister of Magic._

_Some state that the worldwide wizarding war started when the WLF initiated hostilities in Switzerland, but Mr. Weasley believes the seeds of this conflict were sown much earlier._

"_The WLF was initially an unfocused group of witches and wizards who felt that while Lord Voldemort may have been wrong in his methods, he was right in his belief that Muggles were the cause of all problems in the wizarding world. They may not have followed the same pureblood nonsense, but the felt the same way. It was when they started getting organized, when we first heard of the Wizarding Liberation Front back in 1999 that the groundwork was laid for the war. We became aware of their intents as a result of their actions against Professor Henry Boyd. An incident in the United Magical States provided evidence that the WLF was not just a British problem, as they had banded together with an organization known as the Knights of the Wand, a group with the same goals as the WLF but based in the UMS."_

_Once the path to war was obvious, Mr. Weasley continued to serve as an Auror but also as an advisor to the military, specialising on strategic matters, eventually transferring to the military to serve in that capacity with the rank of General. Although many officers of the high command remained in Britain for the duration of the war, General Weasley did attend several theatres of operation. The newspapers and other media were critical of General Weasley, stating that he was eschewing proper protocol and convention to ensure his son's safety. Hugo Weasley enlisted after the formation of the first wizarding army along with other like-minded individuals. (Full disclosure: The author attended the same recruitment station with Hugo Weasley and enlisted on the same day, eventually becoming unit lieutenant for several soldiers including Hugo Weasley.)_

"_The press hammered me, but to be honest I was used to it and ignored it most of the time. The reason I went into the field was to get a first-hand view of the situation on the ground. Its one thing to get reports, parchment and photographs, but to really be able to understand the difficulties of not only the whole army, but individual groups, I needed to be there. As for the comments that I went to protect my son, nothing could be further from the truth, which didn't make my wife very happy. Then there were the struggles we had in creating a functional, effective army, something that had never been done in the magical world. You have to understand, we weren't alone in this regard; all of the other wizarding countries were in the same boat. Putting together not only a chain of command, but training, infrastructure, supplies, intelligence, communication…we really had to start from scratch."_

_When asked to explain how the wizarding army found overcame those initial difficulties, General Weasley used an unlikely source: Muggle history._

"_It became apparent really quickly that we needed guidance on a topic that we'd never experienced, but there was a template, the Muggles. Unlike the wizarding world the Muggle world unfortunately has a long history of armed conflict, and we drew heavily on that experience. After reading as much on the topic as possible we reached out to our colleagues in the UMS at the American Auror Bureau, as they were intimately familiar with the struggles that had happened in their country. They sent over some of their agents and other members of their command who served in the Muggle military, as the AAB commonly keeps representatives in those service branches to keep aware of current situations and be familiar with training. Unfortunately that training really didn't see results until early in 2026, after the field units had engaged the enemy, sometimes with disastrous results."_

_When asked if the wizarding world would have been better served by keeping a standing army, as the Muggles do, General Weasley disagreed, saying that a constant maintenance of the resources and concentration of magical personnel would be difficult due to the very nature of the secrecy that must be maintained between the Muggle and wizarding worlds._

"_The amount of spell work needed to keep our activities hidden from the Muggles was enormous. I can't go into specific details, but there were a lot of units strictly devoted to keeping the Muggles from realizing what was happening."_

"Scorpius?" Mione stuck her head into the study. "Dad's here. Just saw him drive up in his little black car."

"Send him up, I could use another set of eyes on this." Scorpius leaned back. "I've only made it through the first few pages of editing, and there's about twenty more to go after that. I could use a break."

"Don't let him smoke in here. I know he'll try and convince you." Mione shook her head. "I've got an appointment and then I'm going to your mum's for the afternoon with Karen. Don't let him smoke in the house."

Scorpius sat in the garden under an umbrella while his father-in-law turned pages and puffed on his pipe. After what seemed an enormous amount of time Hank finally put the parchment down on the table and reached for the bottle of butterbeer the house elf had provided a few moments before.

"So far, so good, Scorpius, but you'll need to make up your mind on how you refer to Ron. Is he Ron, Mr. Weasley or General Weasley?"

"I thought about that, but I wasn't sure if I should refer to him as General Weasley when he's talking about the military things and Mr. Weasley outside of that. Did I actually call him Ron? Please tell me I didn't."

"Only once, on the next to last page." Hank puffed a few times on his pipe. "Good thing we're out here, much more enjoyable. Now, have you shown this to anyone yet?"

"No, only you." Scorpius took a drink of butterbeer. "Why?"

"I think you've got enough here to interest a publisher. I could show it to Ian Coswock it you'd like, or set up a meeting with him. He's a little odd, that's for sure, but he's been my agent for all of my books."

"It's all new to me, Hank. I'm open to any and all suggestions."

"I'll pop by there tomorrow and see what he thinks. Can you copy this for me and send it over later?"

Scorpius nodded affirmatively. "Not a problem."

"Good, good." Hank sat back and put his fingertips together. "So, who's next on the list of interviews?"

"I'm not sure. I can't get on Kingsley's calendar until next month, the paperwork to see Cassandra Palliurum is in-process, so I guess it'll probably be James Potter. I haven't heard back from him yet, but at least he hasn't said no."

The silvery shape of a bobcat landed in front of both Hank and Scorpius, then spoke with Mione's voice. "Scorpius, bring Dad over to the Manor. Mom on her way. You did it again."

After the patronus left Hank looked over to Scorpius. "You did it again? What's she talking about?"

Scorpius paled slightly and tapped his fingers on the table. "Act surprised when you get there and I won't say anything about the pipe. Are you ready for another grandchild?"


	2. New Fences

**Chapter 2: New Fences**

While sitting at an out of the way booth in The Leaky Cauldron Scorpius looked over his schedule in a small calendar that was bound in black leather. It had turned up at his office last week by owl, a gift from Professor Muggle, with a note on it that said that to make sure he kept his writing straight from his other appointments he needed the little calendar. As Scorpius turned the pages he thought back to his mother-in-law's question, of whether he knew what he was getting himself into by asking Hank to help out on the book, as a day didn't go by that he received an owl from his father-in-law. Most of the time the notes were innocuous enough, telling Scorpius about a book or letting him know that another potential interviewee had been sent a request by owl, but the last few letters were filled with suggestions.

"Am I late? Did you order lunch already?"

Scorpius looked up to see Al Potter slide into the booth, dark sunglasses on his head as well as a stocking cap. The moment he was in the booth Al took off both of them and sat them aside.

"No, Al, you're not late and I haven't ordered."

"Got the calendar out, thought I might be messing up your schedule?"

Scorpius shook his head. "No, this was a gift from Hank. I think he's a little more excited about this than I am."

Before Al could reply the waitress stopped by, and the two men ordered lunch and drinks. After she'd left Al pulled the calendar across the table. "Let me see how bad he's got you going. I'm it for today, and then James' name has been written in and crossed out about five times. That's typical." He turned the calendar around and slid it over to Scorpius. "So what's the plan?"

After a deep breath Scorpius decided it was better to just launch into it directly. "Al, you know I'm writing this book on the war, but I'm not just covering the military aspects. I'd like to get a more diverse view of everyday life, how the war impacted people not on the front lines. I know your story has been told before somewhat, I've read a lot of it in preparation from those magazines that Mione subscribes to and never admits to reading, but if you're comfortable with it I'd like to go a little more in-depth. Only what you're willing to tell, of course."

Al exhaled sharply. "I know you won't be surprised that Hank sent me an owl. I talked to Delyth about it and she thought that it might be good to get everything out. Merlin, even Florence Coswock thought it was a good idea, and if my wife and my agent agree, well…"

The waitress brought over bottles of butterbeer and sat them on the table. After she left Scorpius took a drink. "Listen, Al, we don't have to do everything at once. Think about it, mate, you can schedule something for later if you'd like."

Al shook his head. "No, today's fine, Maeve's over at mum and dad's place and Delyth reminded me of our meeting this morning at breakfast. "

"How's she doing?"

"Fine, Scorp, she's fine. Moody and pregnant, but fine." Al picked at the label on his butterbeer bottle. "Listen, after lunch, let's go someplace else. Don't really want to get into it here at the Leaky. Too many stray ears."

-ooo-

"What in Merlin's name is this place?" Scorpius sat in the chair and looked over the boxes stacked in shelves, dragon models hanging from the ceiling and people rolling dice at the corner table. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Oh yeah. Nobody will bother us here. Just let me get the props ready." Al pulled out his messenger bag and put graph paper on the table as well as several books with somewhat lurid covers. "Now this will take care of it if anybody asks we're planning. What is this place? It's a gaming store. People play games and come up with all sorts of things. Magic, dragons, elves, dwarves…you name it. We can say anything and tell people it's for a game and they'll believe it."

Scorpius glanced around and exhaled deeply. "Intriguing. How did you find this place?"

"Got into a discussion with Hank on dragons one day. Apparently he knew about this stuff somehow. Found the shop not too long after that." Al took a piece of graphing paper and began tracing the lines of little squares with an ink pen. "So go ahead. Ask me anything."

After taking out an ink pen that Al had given him Scorpius looked at it for a moment and then took out his notebook. "I haven't used a Muggle pen in years, not since…" He stopped suddenly and looked at Al with worry. "Can I say that?"

Al looked around for a moment and nodded. "Guy over there said something about kobolds a few minutes ago, I think you're fine."

"Right. Haven't used a Muggle pen since Hank's class. Ok, guess there's no time like the present. I know how you were drafted by the Ministry and assigned to the Homeland Morale section of the army, the group that promoted support for the troops, things like that. Can you tell me what it was like?"

After he put down the pen on the table Al leaned back in his chair. He let out a deep breath and looked at Scorpius intently. "I helped, but it was nothing compared to what you, Hugo and everybody else did. Hell, you actually did something, you fought. I know, I know, I made movies, and it helped, but it wasn't like there was a chance I was going to get killed running around on set. At times it felt surreal, making movies about relationships, soldiers coming back home, all of that. One movie we lost a few cameramen got called off to go do a film piece to show the folks here at home what it was like out there. Don't know that it was ever shown anywhere, just more of the usual. Do the best bits and they get left on the cutting room floor. I know, I know, every actor's complaint. Sorry, I'll…"

Scorpius was intrigued, though. "Hold up, Al. Did you say someone filmed what was going on out there? Real footage? I never saw anyone when we were out in the soup."

"They couldn't get combat clearance so they filmed some forward areas that everyone was waiting in, I guess. That's what I heard at the time. Why? You interested?"

"Of course I am." Scorpius closed his notebook and put the Muggle pen in his pocket without thinking about it. "Do you think they still have the film?"

"I'm pretty sure Augustus does, not sure about the others. Looks like we're going to go see him, huh?"

-ooo-

Augustus Case lived in a small house not too far outside of Stintborough on a piece of land surrounded by three things, grass, hills and sheep. Scorpius shifted the bottle of Old Ogden's firewhiskey in his arms and looked over to Al nervously.

"Are you sure this will work? We won't be rubbing his nose in it, his best work not being shown and all that?"

Al shook his head. "You've got the bottle there, plus he owes me. Don't worry."

Soon they were at the doorstep of the little house standing next to a pair of muddy Wellies. Al knocked on the door and Scorpius felt nervous. He knew it was too good to be true, finding the footage, a new source…it would all fall down like a house of cards. At least he had the bottle.

After a few moments the door opened to reveal a man in his mid-fifties, dark curly hair down to his shoulders and a close-cropped beard shot through with white. He stood there for a moment and glanced at Scorpius with a thinly veiled expression of contempt, but the moment he recognized Al his face lit up.

"Potter! What the hell you doin' out my way? Come in, come in." He opened the door wide and stood aside to give Al and Scorpius room to walk inside. As soon as they were safely in his house he closed the door. "Who's your friend?"

"Augustus, Scorpius Malfoy. He's working on a book about the war."

Scorpius shook Augustus' hand. "Pleasure to meet you, sir."

Augustus kept a hold of Scorpius' hand for a moment and gave him a sideways glance. "You a veteran, son?"

"Yes, sir. First Infantry."

Augustus nodded and let Scorpius' hand drop. "Good, I've had enough of the big mucky-mucks for a lifetime. Come on in." He led them over to a rough-hewn wooden table that stood in the little kitchen. "Guess I should put on the kettle…"

Al nudged Scorpius, and once the bottle of firewhiskey had been produced glasses were rounded up. After a toast to all war veterans Al launched into their reason for visiting. He explained that Scorpius was working on a book that would talk about all aspects of the war, not just the official versions, and recounted how they managed to be in his kitchen drinking firewhiskey at half two in the afternoon.

Scorpius couldn't contain himself any longer and leaned across the table, directly in front of Augustus. "Sir, with the description of your film in my book there may be increased demand to see your work after all these years, and…"

Augustus held up his glass and smiled at Scorpius, his face breaking out into a craggy network of smile lines and wrinkles. "I'm a sheep farmer now, son. Occasionally they'll drag my arse out of retirement for a special or summthin, but I'm an old sheep farmer now. Course, if it did get played a few times that might bring in enough to pay for the new fence I need in the back pasture." He looked over to Al. "Suppose you'd be wantin' to see it, eh? Well, all right, then." He picked up the bottle of Old Ogden's and nodded towards the back door. "I can do a small showing in the big shed, just watch where ye step."

-ooo-

Scorpius sat on a hay bale and watched as Augustus and Al setup everything for the viewing. He wasn't sure what to expect; he was hoping that he might get something useful out of the film but in the back of his mind he figured that there was a good reason that the film hadn't been released, rendering this little exercise in film study to be quite useless. Regardless he took out his notebook and pulled the Muggle pen from his robe; might as well be ready.

The old WeasleyVision system that Augustus had was rudimentary at best, but it did the job; once the film began Scorpius was transported into the windswept cold of Norway. The medical tents were being hit by the wind, making the fabric of the tents ripple and make a loud noise. A dog barked and ran briefly into view before disappearing behind a tent, and then the camera moved towards one of the tents, pausing only briefly to note the tent belonged to the commanding officer. As the viewer was transported through the camp as if they were walking, two fresh-faced soldiers in clean uniforms stopped, their attention caught by the disembodied voice of the cameraman. Scorpius recognized it as that of Augustus.

"Want to send a message home?"

The camera closed in on one of the soldiers, a young man with closely cropped brown hair. He looked as if he was trying to grow a moustache. "Sure. Hi Mum! Hi Dad!"

A young woman pushed him aside and moved into the center of the view. "Quit hogging it, Barney! Hi Mum, tell Gran thanks for the socks, the permanent warming charm is working great!"

Once again Augustus' voice was heard. "What are your thoughts on the war?"

The young soldier previously referred to as Barney moved closer to the blonde witch. "Budge up, Flickens." He looked directly into the camera. "It won't last much longer, we're going to take it to them. They can't possible last. We've got the best training, the best equipment…I'll be home for your birthday, Mum!" He gave the gave the witch a sly look. "Maybe with a guest."

"Stop it!" She punched him on the shoulder. He grabbed her arm and then the two of them walked away.

Once again the camera moved and over on the side of the camp, near the trees, two soldiers were seen sitting next to an open fire. As the scene came into focus it was apparent that the men had fashioned a tripod of sorts over the fire and were watching something intently. Woolen socks steamed above the grate.

"Can you boys spare a minute?" Augustus' voice was hopeful. "Want to send a message back home?"

The two soldiers looked at each other, and the camera focused on their faces. Both men hadn't shaved for days, bags were under their eyes and their regulation helmets were had woolen material sticking out from underneath the edges. The older of the two men looked at the camera. "Nope." He took his wand and levitated one of the socks so it turned over on the tripod. Steam rose in a steady stream from the sock.

The younger man rubbed his chin for a moment. "Mary, if you see this tell Mum I'm sorry. I didn't know it would be like this. And tell Dad he was right."

The camera moved abruptly from the soldiers and soon became stationary. A short-haired version of Augustus stood with his wand pointed leisurely at his throat. "Recut this to the beginning. Five, four, three, two…Norway is not the front, but it is close. The scene you see behind me is one of the Mobile Healing Units or MHUs. Soldiers are brought her to recuperate from their wounds; some advanced Healers are stationed here in case of an overflow of casualties from the MHUs closer to the front. But this place, Armed Serviced Mobile Healing Unit 71, commonly known as the 71st, is more than that; this is a waypoint. New, fresh-faced recruits come through here on their way to the front, convalescing soldiers spend time before they are redeployed or shipped home, and like all MHUs they exist in states of extreme intensity or extreme calmness. There is no in-between. I have been told, before coming here, that the staff stationed at the 71st is very creative to alleviate the boredom and the tension. This documentary will explore all that happens at the 71st." He paused for a few minutes. "And out. Cut it here and move the beginning."

Everything faded for a moment, revealing the shed. Augustus stood up and went over to the old WeasleyVision unit. "There's more, but I don't know if you lads want to see it." He looked over at Albus. "Al, there's a reason I didn't show you this, or anybody. I'll warn you now, son…Erin is in the next one."

Scorpius looked over to Al. He could see the emotions play out over Al's face and he wanted to say something but the words were caught in his throat.

"Go on, Augustus. I made my peace a long time ago." Al nodded slowly.

"Be right back." Augustus left the shed for a few minutes, leaving Al and Scorpius in silence. When he returned it was with the bottle of Old Ogden's. He handed it to Al, walked over and started the next film.

The interior of a tent displayed and an older man in a uniform sat at a desk. A folder was open in front of him as well as a blank piece of parchment. He took a quill, dipped it in ink, and began writing. After a few minutes he looked up to the camera. "I've had to do too many of these damn things. Comes with the job. How do you write a mother and tell her that her daughter is dead? I don't want it to come of like one of those Ministry letters, all official and cold, but what can I say? I don't know the girl. Didn't. I have no idea what she was like. She came in and we did the best we could, but…" He took off his glasses and sat them on the desk. "All I know are the contents of her uniform. Private Eloise Skeeting. Nineteen years old. Lived in some small town I've never heard of. A few letters, a couple of sweets in her pocket, watch, a velvet box with a pair of fancy earrings…Merlin."

He picked up the quill and began writing again until the door opened, and the camera pulled back to reveal a young soldier. "Um, sorry, sir, but the movie's about to start."

The officer nodded, signed his name to the parchment and returned the quill to its holder on his desk. He sighed and looked up at the camera. "Movie night. Thank Merlin we've been slow. Slow is good." He turned to the young soldier. "What is it tonight?"

"I traded with the 82nd. We've got another Albus Potter movie."

"Oh goddamn it, another one?'' The officer shook his head. "What I wouldn't give for a musical. Ok, Fletcher, let's go watch the movie."

The camera perspective changed to the back of a large tent; rows of chairs were set up facing a blank part of the tent. As soon as the WeasleyVision film began, and Albus Potter's name displayed on the credits a large amount of voices were heard simultaneously saying "Erin! Erin! Erin!"

Scorpius glanced over at Al but his face was impassive. When he returned to Augustus' film there she was, Erin Potter, Al's first wife. Even in her military Healer's uniform she was beautiful, her red hair tied back. She began to make rude gestures at some people and eventually sat down. From there on out it was a series of close-ups of the Healers; some were young, some were old, some ate popcorn and in the far back a couple began kissing. Suddenly the WeasleyVision system in the shed stopped, causing Scorpius to look over to Augustus.

The dark-headed man moved his greying hair over his shoulder stood next to the WeasleyVision unit. "I can't do it, Albus. I just can't. This is the good stuff, before…Al, I was at the 82nd when the news came in about the 71st. I can't do it." He looked over to Scorpius. "I'm sorry, lad. I thought this was…I'll give you the film. Do what you want with it. Just don't show it to anybody. I don't need a new fence that badly."

-ooo-

Albus and Scorpius sat quietly at Colony House in Hank's office. Both men were quiet as Melody sat tea in front of them and then, after kissing Al on the head, she sat down in a conjured chair next to Hank's desk. Hank looked out at the two of them with sadness; he'd heard from them about what the film had contained, and the effect on the two of them was marked. Scorpius looked as if he was reliving the bad parts of his enlistment while Al stared blankly at the wall. Everyone was quiet until the sound of the Floo was heard, and Al didn't even notice Hank walk out of the room. When he returned he walked back to his desk and let Delyth go over to Al.

She knelt down in front of him, her pregnant belly against his legs. "Oh Albus, Al, I'm so sorry."

Al's head snapped up sharply. "Why? You didn't do anything?"

Delyth fixed him with a glare. "Of course I didn't do anything; I'm sorry you had to go through that. We've been over this, Al."

Scorpius watched as Al's face returned to its former sad demeanor. As Delyth comforted Al he got up out of the chair and went over to Melody. His voice was quiet.

"I don't know if I should write about this or not. It seems too personal."

Melody put her hand on his arm. "The war was personal, Scorpius. You went through things; I know it still bothers you. Yes, Mione talked to me, but that's not important. Al told you he wanted to tell his story, didn't he? You're writing about more than the soldier's experiences, and this, oh Merlin, if you knew how many times I heard from people who lost someone."

Hank stood next to Scorpius. "Imagine what your parents went through. What some people are still going through. It's up to you, son, on whether you write about this or not, but I don't think this story has had near enough attention. Like you said, it's all been the official versions, the military stuff." They watched Delyth lead Al from the room into the sitting room, and Hank turned back to Scorpius. "My dad didn't have to serve in Vietnam, one of the American Muggle wars. Physical problems. But a lot of his friends did, and a lot of them didn't come back. I knew some of them that did come back, and it took them years, decades even, to come to grips with things. If you can help that, if you can help some family get their loved one back, think of how much good that will do."

-ooo-

Albus focused on the pictures, some Muggle, some Wizarding. He couldn't take his eyes off them, as he was locked in as if by a spell. On the sitting room table one picture stood out, one of him with Mione and Minnie, the one of him and the twins after his first acting role, Romeo in Romeo and Juliet. Still wearing his Romeo clothes the twins stood on either side of him and the looks on their faces were almost embarrassing, as they both gave him soppy looks. It had been so easy, then. No war, everything laid out in front of them in the promise that they lived in a better world, a world without Voldemort, and that it was all there for the taking. All they had to do was apply themselves, to work, and it would be a much better future than what his parents had to look forward to when they were at Hogwarts. Their sacrifices had laid the foundation, and it was up to them to make their way. But the damned war changed all that. So many people, so many years, all gone…and what did he do? He was an actor, for Merlin's sake! While Hugo and Scorpius, not to mention all of his other friends and housemates, while they were out there actually fighting and possibly dying he was back safe on a soundstage or off on some promotional tour to further the patriotic movement.

"Al?" Delyth sat next to him and put her hand on his shoulder. "Al, we've been over and over this. Not your fault, love. You play the part you were cast in, isn't that what you always say? You did your part." She sighed deeply. Her voice grew very quiet. "Erin played her part as well."

"Then it was shitty casting." Al shook his head and looked down at his shoes. "You know what I mean."

Delyth nodded. "I do."

Al was quiet for a while but then looked over to his wife. "I should have known this would happen, that this book would bring everything back up that I thought was dealt with, but that film…"

"You couldn't have known, Al." Delyth brushed his bangs away from his face. "Al, love, people know the basics of what happened to Erin, but you haven't said much about it and…I…I think you should. She needs to get the proper credit for training you properly. I shudder to think what you were like at first. "

That brought a sarcastic laugh to Al's face. "Thanks, Del. Properly. Lovely." He looked over to her. "Are you ok with this? I mean…"

"Albus Potter." She fixed him with a slightly stern look. "I knew that you were widowed when I met you. I knew what I was getting into and I know you love me. I know you loved Erin, too. You weren't the only one to have lost the person they loved and had to figure out how to move ahead with their lives. I think you owe it to her. Give Scorpius your wedding picture, the one with the dogs. You two look so happy in that picture, and people need to be reminded that the cost of war is high. For everybody."

Al shook his head. "I can't believe you. How did I ever manage to…"

"We met at a pub and shagged. I'm irresistible, I know." She smirked at him, but there was sadness behind the gaze. "I know that if it wasn't for the war I would have never met you, but that doesn't mean that I don't wish it hadn't happened. Merlin, Al. It's up to you, whether or not you want Scorpius to write about everything, but if you want to know my vote I say that you let him."

-ooo-

Mione Malfoy had her hair tied up with a handkerchief and had just finished changing her daughter Karen's nappy when she heard her husband say some rather rude words. She rolled her eyes, put her daughter on her hip and walked purposely into his 'writing room.'

"Scorpius Malfoy! I will _not_ have Karen learning those kind of words. It's going to be bad enough with Dad around. Look at Artie! He can swear with the best of them and he's…" She stopped short when Scorpius looked over at her, as she could tell by the look on his face that something was wrong. "What is it?"

He sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Sorry, Mione. It's this chapter. I told you what happened today, and…I don't know if I can do it. It's too damned hard. I mean, how do I do justice to Al's story, and more importantly to Erin and everyone else at her unit? That's a whole bloody book in and of itself. Why did they not make it out and…"

"And you did." Mione came over and leaned on the desk next to him. "I know, love. It's the luck of the draw. Who knows why some people died and others didn't?" Karen began to fuss so Mione handed their daughter to Scorpius. "Someone is very happy you are here. More than one." She patted her belly. "Do you have to write this part next? Why not do some of the regular history stuff?"

Scorpius held his daughter on his lap and smiled at her as she tried to put her fingers up his nose. "No bogies, Karen." He studied his wife for a moment. "I could, but that's what I'm trying to get away from, the regular history book. It's been incredibly well-documented about the WLF, the connections to Voldemort, all of the troop movements…that's not what I'm interested in."

"I think you have your answer, then." Mione kissed him on the top of his head. "Why don't you take her up now? I'll fix you a cup of hot chocolate."

After she left the room Scorpius watched his daughter rub her eyes. "Ah, sleepy girl. Come on then, let's get you in bed." He stood up with Karen in his arms and made his way to the nursery, and instead of putting her in her crib he sat in the rocking chair.

When Mione came back later with the cup of hot chocolate Scorpius was rocking and talking. She stood outside the door, leaning on the doorframe and listened.

"You'll meet them when you're older, Karen. Your Uncle Al is one of the strongest men I know. How he could survive losing his wife like that I'll never know. I don't know what I'd do without your mum. She kept me alive during the war, you know. Well, you don't know, so I'll tell you. She wrote me letters. I still have them; maybe I'll let you read some of them when you're older. Your Uncle Hugo was in my unit, but Uncle Al, Uncle James and your Uncle HR weren't in the fighting part of the army like me and Hugo. They did their parts, too. Everyone did. I just hope you'll never have to go through anything like that."

He rocked silently for a while, staring at his daughter, but just as Mione was ready to move into the room he began talking again, making her stop suddenly.

"But your Uncle Al, Karen…I just thank Godric he met Delyth. She's his second wife, sorry if I confused you before about Erin. Erin was Al's first wife, and she died in the war. She was a Healer. You see, not only soldiers die in a war. We saw a lot of that, people whose only mistake was being in the wrong place at the wrong time. She was a good woman, Erin. Very pretty, too, but don't tell your mum I said that. More than that, though, she was…" He paused for a while but continued to rock in the chair. "Seeing you sleeping like this makes me think of her parents. How did they go on knowing that their daughter died, and while trying to heal people? I guess your mum is right, Karen. I do need to tell Al's story, but more than that I need to tell Erin's story."

Mione backed quietly out of the nursery, walked into the bedroom and cast a slight warming charm on the hot chocolate.


	3. Our War

**Chapter 3: Our War**

_**A/N: No, your eyes do not deceive you, a new chapter of this story and the final one. I'd always planned to continue this piece but different stories cropped up, took precedence, and if I'm honest this story was one of the hardest in the Professor Muggle series for me to write. I'd envisioned a more historical view of the war that figures into the later Professor Muggle stories but it just didn't work out. Hopefully this chapter will finish things off and be worth the wholly unplanned two year hiatus.**_

It was very late, or early depending on your point of view, and Hermione Malfoy was busy rocking her daughter Karen back to sleep. She'd woken up crying in the middle of the night, pulling at her ear, and Hermione was trying to decide whether to go down and pull out the big book of home healing spells that her mum-in-law Astoria had given her when her house elf Leeky came in, wringing her hands.

"Mistress Mione? Sorry to disturbs, Leeky is, but Mistress Virginia is calling for you on the Floo."

"Gin?" Mione lowered her voice. "Tell her I'll Floo her in the morning."

Leeky shook her head, causing her ears to wobble. "Mistress Virginia is scared, she is, I knows it."

"Gin? Scared?" Mione looked at the clock. "It must be bad. Take Karen back to bed and see if there's something wrong, she's pulling at her ear, might be an infection. I'll be back up as soon as I can to check on her."

Leeky took the almost sleeping form of Karen and left the room soundlessly. After a moment Mione took a deep breath, gathered her dressing gown around her waist and tied it with the cord while walking down the back staircase to the family Floo. Forthingsgate was so large that the main Floo address was public, but the smaller Floo fireplace off in the sitting room was for family only. She hurried down the rest of the stairs and quickly knelt down by the fireplace. Her sister's face in the flames was frazzled, her hair askew, and a look of terror was on her face.

"Merlin's pants, Gin, what's wrong?"

"Oh Mione, I don't know what to do." Virginia's head trembled in the flames. "Hugo's had nightmares about the war off and on, used to get them all the time after he came back, and he hasn't had any in ages but tonight he woke up screaming about bodies and...I can't calm him down. He's backed up in the corner of the bedroom, won't let me near him, just sobbing."

"Good lord." Mione put her hand to his mouth. "What can I do?"

"Can...can you send Scorpius over? He was his commanding officer at one point, maybe he knows what's going on. Please? I wouldn't ask if I could think of anyone else and I just don't know what to do."

"Of course, of course." Mione nodded frantically. "Keep the Floo open, I'll send him right over."

Without saying goodbye Gin's head disappeared and the flames died, leaving Mione alone in the darkened room, her chest heaving in large breaths. She hurriedly got to her feet and took the stairs up to their bedroom two at a time. She knelt down by the bed and shook Scorpius' arm softly. "Sweetie, Scorpius, wake up, love. Hugo needs you."

"Hugo...mmmph...nahan..."

"Scorpius." Hermione's voice became louder and she shook him harder. "Scorpius, wake up!"

"What, what?" He sat up in bed, disoriented. After a few seconds his eyes focused on his wife. "What's wrong? Is Karen ok? Nappy?"

Mione shook her head. "No, sweetie. Gin Floo called. Hugo's having a nightmare, a really, really bad one. He woke up screaming about bodies and won't let her near him."

"Damn." Scorpius pushed the covers back and swung his legs out of bed. "Damn war. Ok, ok. I'll go."

Five minutes later a hastily dressed Scorpius Malfoy appeared in Gin and Hugo's Satterbourne house to see his sister-in-law in quite the state of worry sitting on the sofa, wringing her hands together. The moment Gin saw him she rushed over and pulled him into a deep hug, half-sobbing into his shoulder.

"I've never seen him like this, I didn't know what else to do, he won't talk to me and he's, he's, he's scaring me."

"Shhhh." Scorpius smoothed her hair down with his hand. "It'll be ok. Just do me a favor. Fix the strongest pot of tea you can and give me some time. And don't come in until I send for you, can you do that?" He expected one of her usual sarcastic remarks, but instead she meekly nodded, pulled herself away from him, rubbed her eyes and retreated to the kitchen. After a few moments he took a very deep breath, nodded, steeling himself for what he'd find, and made his way down the hall to the bedroom.

Hugo sat on the floor, knees up to his chin, sobbing into his hands. Scorpius walked over to him, stopping a few feet away. He stood there motionless for a few moments.

"Hugo? Hugo it's me, Scorpius."

There was no response.

"Hugo? Weasley, it's me, Malfoy."

Again, no response.

After a large sigh Scorpius shifted into what he called military mode. His posture stiffened, his arms were ramrod straight against his side and his heels were pressed together. "Private Weasley, front and center, NOW!"

Reacting as if someone had imperiused him Hugo stood up quickly, at full military attention. His reddened eyes seem to stare straight through Scorpius.

"Private Weasley, report!"

Hugo saluted. "Yes, sir. At 1900 hours the body duty drawing took place, I drew the short straw. Reported to the Field Hospital for duty, assigned the personal effects rotation. Carried out orders and...and..." Focus seemed to gradually come back to Hugo, he blinked his eyes a few times and looked at Scorpius. "Scorpius? What on earth..."

With a sigh of relief Scorpius relaxed his posture, stepped forward and put his hands on Hugo's shoulders. "Bad dream, mate. It's just a bad dream. You're in your house at Satterbourne, married to Virginia, war's over. It's all over."

"I don't think it'll ever be over, sometimes." Hugo seemed to sink, only kept from the floor by Scorpius's arms. "I was right back there. It was all happening again."

"Come on, Gin's fixing tea. Let's go..."

"NO!" Hugo steadied himself. "I don't want her to know."

"Mate, she's your wife, for Merlin's sake. You can't keep this all to yourself."

A moment of indecision played out on Hugo's face until finally he relented. "Ok. Ok. Tea'd be good. And maybe a few biscuits."

"That's the Hugo Weasley I know. Come on."

Scorpius led him out of the bedroom into the kitchen where a frantic Gin sat at the kitchen table, full tea laid out and ready. She started to stand but Scorpius shook his head negatively, so she eased back down into the seat. Scorpius led Hugo over to a chair, helped him sit down and then took the chair next to him.

Hugo reached out and took Gin's hand. "I'm sorry, love. I'm so sorry. I didn't know."

She picked up his hand still in hers and kissed it gently. "It was just a dream, Hugo."

"No." He shook his head. "Not a dream, a memory." The silence that followed Hugo's statement was almost deafening, broken only by the constant tick of the clock on the wall. Eventually the words came out of him slowly, haltingly. "It happened after you..." he gestured slightly with his head towards Scorpius "...were reassigned to the Intelligence Unit. We were off in the thick of the shit, near Nordkapp. Norway. It had been bad, really bad. The spells were everywhere, hardly anyplace you could get cover. They had those big spell cannon things, the ones that shot those giant Bombarda spells. We always said if you were gonna get hit with one of those you should get the focus of 'em because if you were out on the fringes the debris and pieces of stuff would tear you up worse than...it was bad. We finally got everything under control, moved the line up a few clicks and made a quick camp. It was night, then, you couldn't really see anything. Next morning the lieutenant, Withers, you remember him, Scorpius, real piece of work. Never liked to assign anyone the detail, always made you draw straws. This time I drew the short straw and had to report for the body duty at the Field Hospital."

He reached out, took a biscuit off the table, dunked it in his tea, and after eating it and taking another sip of tea he didn't look up. He slowly rotated his tea cup around and around, turning it by the handle.

Scorpius glanced at Gin and turned back to Hugo. "You were assigned body duty. What happened?"

"I've never seen anything like it. Hope I never will." Hugo's focus remained on his tea cup. "Pieces of people everywhere. I found half of one man in a tree. Never found his other half. Woman's head in a hole, eyes wide open, looking straight at me. Killed three crows trying to eat a man's intestines. Had to levitate all that into the body bags. Just me and two other blokes. I think we all vomited at least three times. I went west, over the ridge, where Merlin Unit had been stationed and as soon as I got over the hill..." He looked up at Scorpius. "Gone. The whole lot of them, gone. Not a single one left and sure as I sit here now not one whole body intact. I didn't know what part belonged to who, so I just made sure there were the right amount of arms, legs and heads in the bags. I was about halfway through when we heard the sound, another Bombarda. I did what I was taught and hit the ground, except it wasn't exactly ground. I was there in the mud and the blood with those bodies, covering my head, praying that I'd get out of there alive."

Gin sobbed into her hand and reached out and put her other hand on Hugo's arm. Scorpius almost said something, but he knew that if Hugo was talking, finally talking, there was no way he was going to interrupt him.

"Turns out we weren't under attack." Hugo blinked several times and looked over to Scorpius. "You remember Worthington, right? Scrawny git, always liked to shoot off his mouth? Turns out he and Jensen, you remember her too? Well, they were having a bit of a fling. He found her, that's the best we could tell, because he offed himself. That's what we pieced together, because she'd been dead for a long time, missing half her head. He couldn't take it and just did himself in. And that bastard!" Hugo banged his fist on the table. "That bastard Withers comes up while I'm standing there, taking it all in, and just as cool as can be tells me to get on with it and bag up Worthington, have to be efficient and all that shite. It was all I could do to not Avada him on the spot."

"Jesus Christ." Scorpius sat back and couldn't believe what he'd heard. "That piece of shit. Did you report him?"

"Doesn't matter." Hugo shook his head. "He got it three days later. Didn't even have time to write him up." He turned to his wife. "I'm sorry you had to hear all that, love."

"Hugo, no." Gin's voice was soft as she took his hand, put it to her lips and kissed it. "No secrets, you know how...with what I did...I love you. I love you, Hugo. And what you did was during the war, you couldn't help that."

"But I could help it, love." He gave her a distraught look. "I enlisted. Hell, we enlisted." He nodded his head at Scorpius. "We were doing our part, just like our parents, except it was different. Very fucking different." His head began to slowly sink. "Very...fucking...different."

Scorpius shot a glance over to Gin who simply nodded. They sat there in silence for a few moments until Hugo's head firmly rested on his shoulder. Asleep.

"Dreamless sleep draught?" Scorpius looked to Gin.

"Yes. I don't know if it was the right thing to do but I couldn't think of anything and you saw the state he was in and..."

"It was the right thing to do. I'll help you put him to bed."

Gently they picked up Hugo from the chair, a silent agreement not to levitate him, and as Gin drew back the covers Scorpius eased him into bed. Almost as soon as Hugo was prone Gin wrapped Scorpius tightly in a hug.

"Thank you so much, I didn't know what to do and I was afraid of..."

"Shhhh." Scorpius held her tightly. "It's ok. I take care of my family, Gin. Try and get some sleep."

She shook her head against his shoulder. "After that I don't think I'll be able to, not tonight anyway."

"Ok." He tenderly eased her out of the hug. "Tell you what, though, I'm going to owl Lily and see if she can fix you up some potions for the next few days, that all right with you? Hers are the best, better than the potion shops. Give him a few days. And if you want, I know some Healers that he might want to talk to, they're used to dealing with things like this. He's not the only one to have this happen, you know. Happened to me before, too."

"Was it worth it, Scorpius? Was the damned war worth it?"

"What was the alternative? He came back, Gin. Not everyone did."

-ooo-

Breakfast at Forthingsgate was a subdued affair, broken only by polite 'pass the butter' and one year old Karen's burblings. The quiet seemed to affect everyone, especially Leeky the house elf who took some convincing to understand that the food was fine, it wasn't her fault that everyone was so quiet.

Mione looked up from her eggs which she had been listlessly poking around her plate. "Scorpius, what happened? You wouldn't say much when you came home. After you sent off that owl with the time-delay delivery spell you just came to bed. I don't think you've hugged me that tightly at night in a long time."

Scorpius sat down his fork. "I saw some bad stuff, love, but Hugo was in the middle of the worst of it. I'm not telling you what he said, it isn't my right, I can't...it was bad. Very, very bad. Honestly it's a wonder this didn't happen earlier. How he's kept it all in and been a normal, functioning Auror after all that is...I don't know. I don't know how he does it."

"Poor Hugo."

"And poor Gin. She was terrified, Mione, absolutely terrified and there was nothing she could do. I've heard some stories from the people I've interviewed for the book but never anything like that."

"You're not going to put it in your book, are you?"

"Absolutely not." Scorpius shook his head vehemently. "No, that wasn't an interview, that was...no. Not going in the book." He picked up his tea to have a sip but put it down before it made it halfway to his lips. "I'm not even sure I should write this book, after last night. I thought this might help people understand, but I don't want to bring things like that back for Hugo and everybody else."

"But think about it from Gin's perspective." Mione tilted her head a bit. "She knows now, and maybe she'll understand him more."

"Maybe." He gave a non-committal shrug. "I don't know."

"Well, don't worry about it, not today. It's Saturday, just spend today with us here at the house."

"Bloody hell, it's Saturday!" Scorpius' shoulders slumped. "I'm supposed to go over to that historical society and talk to them about the war. That's the last damned thing I want to do."

"Cancel it. Reschedule it." Mione sat her fork down. "You've dealt with the war enough for one day."

"But that's it, Mione. I deal with it every day in one form or another. Sure, I might really think about it but it's always there. At least I have you to talk to about it, I don't think Hugo ever really told Gin what happened, what he went through. And your Dad set up this thing, said it would be good to get these people on board for my book. I owe it to him to do my duty." A humorless laugh escaped his lips. "Duty. What a concept. I suppose it is my duty that we never have to have our children go through that."

Mione unknowingly put a hand on her stomach. "I really hope you're right, sweetie. I really, truly do."

-ooo-

Three hours after breakfast Scorpius stood in the little antechamber off of the main hall and watched as his father-in-law mingled with members of the British Wizarding Historical Society. He'd given them the outline of his book, how he was incorporating personal accounts of the war from different perspectives, but it was impossible to generate the sufficient amount of enthusiasm. Hank must have noticed as he stood up from the front row, made his way to the podium and thanked Scorpius for the introduction and took over the rest of the presentation. The mostly elderly attendees had been polite to him, some of the old Malfoy prejudices still lived, but that didn't bother him. After a few more minutes of watching Hank talk to an old witch he simply turned and walked off down the hallway, hoping for the exit.

As soon as he opened the door it was immediately apparent that he'd gone the wrong way; instead of the exit he'd walked into an exhibit about the Wizarding War. He tried to open the door to return the way he'd come but the door wouldn't budge. Silently cursing his luck he started threading his way through the exhibits, as the path was one that snaked back and forth through the room to maximize exhibition space. He was almost to the exit, as the displays were about the beginnings of the war when he heard the voices.

"It's through here, Alastair. I'll show you."

An elderly witch held the hand of a boy. Scorpius guessed his age to be around seven or eight, and it was apparent that the boy was related to the witch; they both had the same eyes and similar facial features. Instead of walking away, though, something told him to stay. He turned away from them and instead blankly looked at one of the displays, listening intently.

"See, this is where it starts."

"I know, Gram. When do we get to the part about Dad?"

"Oh, his part will be here, don't you worry. They sent me a letter, I know exactly where it is, but I want you to understand. You know about Voldemort, I've told you the stories."

"Yeah, Harry Potter got him!"

"That's right, he did, but not everybody was happy. Some of those witches and wizards weren't happy that he died again. They also weren't happy about Muggles. They wanted to get rid of all the Muggles."

"That's dumb." The little boy's voice was incredulous. "My friend William's a Muggle and he's all right."

"Of course he is, dear. But those bad witches and wizards didn't believe that. They thought that just because people like your friend William couldn't do magic they should be...they thought they were weeds, like in my garden, and needed to be pulled. And when the good witches and wizards wouldn't do that, well, that's when the bad wizards started the war."

"But I thought the bad witches and wizards only wanted to get rid of Muggles, not other..that doesn't make sense, Gram."

"No ducky, it doesn't."

"Can I go see Dad now?"

"Yes, I suppose we can. The letter said his picture is on the display with the train. Come on, let's go find it."

As the woman and her grandson started to make their way through the exhibits Scorpius found himself staring at the woman. She kept her grandson moving forward but she stopped in front of Scorpius.

"You served, didn't you, son?"

Scorpius nodded. "Yes, I did."

"Bless you for your service. I may have lost my Ritchie, but Alastair will have a future now." She touched Scorpius gently on his arm and slowly followed her grandson out of sight.

Scorpius stood motionless for a few moments. Then, as if following a need buried deeply inside, began walking through the exhibit. It was all there. The beginnings, the end of Voldemort and the hidden unrest of those unwilling to accept defeat. The groundswell of dissatisfaction about Muggles, culminating eventually in the formation of groups like the Wizarding Liberation Front. Exhibits detailing political unrest followed by like-minded fringe groups from multiple countries uniting under one banner, the banner of the WLF, propaganda with Voldemort as a martyr figure. The formation of armies to combat the growing menace and then, finally, out and out war. Familiar scenes of enlistment, army life and then the horrible images of combat. Maps of troop movements, images of war efforts on the home front, a wartime movie poster with Albus Potter, war bond drive advertisements. A wizarding picture of a train full of troops, one man hanging out the window, kissing a woman and then waving his hat as the train pulled away. More combat photos, thankfully non-moving Muggle photographs, finally culminating in the last picture, soldiers from all the allied countries standing around a large bunker full of dead wizards, the end of the WLF.

Scorpius looked at the last photo for quite a while and then turned to face a black wall of nothing, nothing but black but when he looked closer flashes of faint light seemed to pulse and fade all along the wall. As he stepped closer he realized those were not just flashes of light but names, names that popped in and out of existence as briefly as those who served lived and died. For a while he just stared at them as if they were background noise until something caught his eye.

_Erin Potter, Nurse First Class, 71__st__ Mobile Healing Unit. Norway._

The words lingered on the black, glossy surface of the wall and then faded away. He was still standing there, staring at the wall, when Hank found him.

"I'm sorry, Scorpius."

He turned around quickly. "What?"

"I'm sorry." Hank put a hand on his shoulder. "Gin sent me a letter early this morning. I wasn't going to bring it up, shit, I wasn't even sure if we should do this but I thought...I don't know what I thought, exactly. I'm sorry I got you started on this book, too. Don't say anything, I know I jumped in and looked later. Mel and I have talked about it. You don't have to finish this thing, you know. Nobody will think any less of you if you don't. I sure as hell won't. I've known some veterans in my time and...Jesus, Scorp, every time you put pen to paper, quill to paper, whatever, every time you start in on this you're reliving the whole damn thing over and over. And not just from your perspective, you're reliving everyone's war. That's a lot for one man, hell, one person. Maybe you should take a break for a while. Fuck it, take a year or two or twenty off. There's a reason Shelby Foote could write about the Civil War, it wasn't his war. He wasn't out there in the...just think about it, ok?"

"But what about people like Hugo? It has to have helped him to talk about it with Gin."

Hank nodded. "It has, it will, but it has to be on his time, you can't force it. The book won't force people, nobody's going to make them read it, but..fuck, I don't know what I'm saying. It's your book, son. It's all up to you."

Scorpius stood there, motionless, his eyes glancing at the names that displayed and faded into the black wall. "I can't tell all their stories. I just want people to understand, to realize what we did. How close we came to losing everything."

"Most do, I think. But they don't want to talk about it. Scares the living shit out of me to think about it. But I'm glad it's over, I'm glad we won, and I'm glad you're home safe."

-ooo-

Scorpius sat at his desk late that night, research papers in front of him on the desk, a tumbler of firewhiskey at his side. He took a sip and sat back in the chair, staring at the documents. A cry from the nursery broke his concentration, so he sat the tumbler on the desk, got up and went in to find his daughter standing up in her crib, crying.

"Hey there, little one, what's all the fuss?" He lifted her up. "Ah, some one needs a dry nappy."

"Oh, you got her." Mione stood in the doorway in her nightgown. "I thought you were working."

"I am." He looked at his daughter and smiled as he took her over to the changing table. "I am, aren't I, Karen." With a practiced hand he replaced her nappy, powdering her little bottom with the proper amount of powder and snapping her pajamas back together. He lifted her up into his arms and looked at his wife. "I think I've just made a decision about the book."

"What about it?" Mione reached out for her daughter and snuggled her close as Scorpius gently handed her off. "What are you going to do?"

"Leeky." He turned to the doorway and seconds later the house elf arrived. "Leeky? Are you busy?"

"No Master Scorpius, Leeky is not busy. What can Leeky do?"

"Please take all of my research on the war and box it up, please. I'd like you to put a locking spell on the box or trunk or whatever you use so that it can't be opened for ten years. No, twenty years."

Mione looked at her husband in shock. "Are you sure? You and Dad have worked so hard on it."

"I'm sure." He nodded. "Your dad was right. The wounds are still too fresh."

"Ok. If that's what you want."

"It is." He smiled and kissed Karen on her head. It is."

-ooo-

_Twenty years later_

"Mum, I need some things from storage." Karen popped out of the Floo and brushed off the powder. "Oh, hello Leeky. How are you?"

"Leeky is fine Mistress Karen. How are Mistress Karen and the baby?"

Karen rubbed her tummy. "Fine, fine, thank you. I'm only four months along, still have a ways to go. Is Mum here?"

Leeky shook her head, wobbling her ears. "No, Mistress Mione is at Colony House. Master Scorpius is in his study."

"Great, I'll find him. Thanks." Karen set off through the kitchen and made her way upstairs to her father's study. She knocked quickly and stuck her head around the partially opened door. "Hey Dad, are you busy?"

Scorpius leaned back in his chair, away from the large, dusty box that sat unopened on his desk. "Ah, um, no. No, I'm not. What brings you by today, Mrs. Elphick? Is Mr. Elphick with you today?"

"Very funny, Dad. No, Christopher isn't here, he's at work. I wanted to get some things out of storage."

"Have the room now, eh?" Scorpius smiled. "Your grandparents still spoil you rotten, giving you a downpayment for a house."

"Whatever." She sat on the edge of his desk. "You just got lucky because Mum inherited this place." She ran a finger along the edge of the box, leaving a trace in the dust. "What's this thing? Looks ancient."

"Oh, it's old enough, that's for sure. I've had it sealed away for twenty years."

Karen figured it out immediately, as she knew about her father's book. She'd heard the stories from her granddad Hank. "Are you going to open it? Are you going to finish it?"

Scorpius looked at her and nodded slowly. "Yes, yes I think I finally will. It's been long enough, I believe. I want my grandson in there to know what happened."

"Well, about that..." Karen smiled. "Looks like it's girls for you again, Dad. Healer confirmed it earlier today, that's why I came over here, mum put away all of our old baby things and I wanted to get some of them."

"She'll be so happy, Karen." Scorpius got out of his chair and hugged her. "She will be very happy."

"Thanks." She returned her gaze to the box. "You know, I could help you with that. The book."

"I'd like that."

-ooo-

_Footnote_

_Our War: The Personal Stories of the Great Wizarding War_ was published in 2053. The authors listed were Scorpius Malfoy, Hank Boyd and Karen Elphrick. All proceeds were donated to the Veterans Fund. While not the textbook used in Magical History classes to cover the war, educational institutions worldwide continue to use it to give context and to illustrate how every single witch and wizard worldwide was affected.


End file.
